Oral fluid or saliva is a bio-specimen with considerable research and diagnostic potential. At present, the tools and techniques used to collect oral fluids have the potential to introduce error in the measurement of salivary analytes. A common solution to these problems is to have patients and research participants passively drool whole saliva into collection vials. This technique eliminates any possibility of confounding influence on the integrity of the specimen. However, this simple technique is unpalatable to many, can draw unwanted attention to the donor, and can be inappropriate in many everyday settings where saliva collections must take place.
Therefore, an alternative to sampling drooling is to ask that donors gently force saliva into collection containers using short sections of drinking straws. This additional procedure solves a component of the problem but also introduces new issues. To use the “crude straw technique” requires that the donor hold the straw with one hand, and the vial with the other. The straw sections need to be short (typically 2 inches) and that length makes it hard for the donor to coordinate the two units together. More importantly, as air is forced through the straw into the specimen container it creates bubbles and foaming. Bubbles and/or foaming can easily over flow the top of the collection vial, and obscure visibility of the meniscus. The former issue creates a potential biohazard, source of embarrassment, and a need for materials to clean the exterior of the collection device and the surrounding area. The latter makes it difficult for the donor or the health/research professional to determine whether sufficient sample has been received in the vial.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a device and method to minimize the burden and maximize the palatability of sample donation by creating a self-contained collection system with the vial which minimizes foaming/bubbling during the transfer of oral fluid into the collection vial.